Category Archives: Crimson Romance

April 24, 2013 · 3:57 am

Review: Breathing His Air by Debra Kayn

Title: Breathing His Air by Debra Kayn
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Length: 186 pdf pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Author

Summary:

She is love advice in a coffee shack, he’s protection in a biker bar. When her past meets his present, it’s a killer cocktail that might get them shot, stabbed, or otherwise dead.

Tori Baldwin spends all her time traveling the states, running a mobile coffee shack, and handing out love advice with every cup. She’s staked her rig in the parking lot of Cactus Cove – a local biker bar by all appearances – and plans to stay put for three months. Just long enough to make some money, without making any friends, before she moves to her next destination as she tries to stay ahead of a painful past.

Rain Brookshire is the leader of the Bantorus motorcycle club, and owner of the Cactus Cove in the small town of Pitnam, Washington. He wants the Lagsturns, a rival-bad-news motorcycle club, to leave town before they infect his town with trouble.

With bullets flying and the Lagsturns putting on the pressure, the only way to keep Tori safe – since she refuses to leave town – is for Rain to claim her as his woman. She has no idea that Rain’s played his hand for all to see in the biker world. It doesn’t help that Tori exhibits the three ideal classifications of his ideal woman – Classy, Sexy, and a total Goof – and he can’t help but posture and lay down the law. But, when it appears Tori’s life is in danger, and the Lagsturns are innocent, he isn’t going to let the law stop him from keeping his woman safe.

The Review:

If you are fan of romances with Alpha males, then you are going to love Debra Kayn’s Breathing His Air.

Rain Brookshire is sexy, bossy and he has a possessive streak a mile wide after he claims Tori Baldwin as his woman to protect her from a rival gang. He is also sweet, loving and über protective of Tori and the members of his biker club.

Tori is a very unique and likable character. Scarred by her traumatic past, she never stays in one place for long. Although she steers clear of romantic entanglements, the love advice Tori gives the patrons of her coffee shack is insightful and almost eerily accurate. She is friendly, sassy and pretty much defies Rain at every turn.

Debra Kayn’s Breathing His Air is an action packed sizzling hot romance that is full of unexpected twists and turns. An entertaining story with a diverse cast of characters and an intriguing plot that contemporary romance fans are sure to enjoy.

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Filed under Breathing His Air, Contemporary, Crimson Romance, Debra Kayn, Rated B, Review, Romance, Suspense

March 5, 2013 · 8:46 am

Blog Tour Stop & Review: Crimson and Clover by Juli Page Morgan

Title: Crimson and Clover by Juli Page Morgan
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Genre: Historical (1960s), Romance
Length: 260 pages (estimated)
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Blog Tour Company

Summary:

Under Katie Scott’s flower child exterior beats the heart of June Cleaver. Though she digs her bellbottoms and love beads, she longs for the idyllic family life she was denied as a child.

Laughed out of San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury after the Summer of Love for believing rock ’n roll and white picket fences can coexist she decides to try her luck in the bohemian neighborhood of Ladbroke Grove in London.

When she discovers her new friend Adam is starting a band with Jay Carey, she’s ecstatic. She’d admired the British guitar god from afar for years, and when she and Jay finally meet the attraction between them is instantaneous.

But life with a rock ’n roll star doesn’t lend itself well to white picket fences. And when Katie tells Jay the secret she’s carried for two years it may end the dream before it begins.

The Review:

Juli Page Morgan’s debut romance, Crimson and Clover is a fun trip back in time to the turbulent late sixties where sex, drugs and rock and roll are a big part of everyday life.

Katie Scott is ecstatic when she finally meets rocker Jay Carey. There is an immediate connection between the two and they quickly fall headlong into a passionate relationship. Complications arise when Jay’s new band finds instant stardom and his strenuous tour schedule takes a toll on their relationship.

Katie and Jay are vibrant, well-developed characters. Katie is smart and self-confident and Jay is intense and über sexy. The attraction between Katie and Jay is sizzling hot and their sex scenes are deliciously steamy.

Despite their sexual compatibility, their relationship out of the bedroom is a little rocky. Katie has a few self-doubts and a secret that threatens their burgeoning relationship. Poor communication skills continually plague them. Jay is very different while on tour and some of his behavior on the road will eventually become an issue between them. Busy lives, hectic schedules, time apart and career changes sometimes seem insurmountable.

Crimson and Clover is an engaging novel with a wonderful cast of characters. Juli Page Morgan provides an unflinchingly honest portrayal of the time period and perils of fame that greatly enriches the plot and advances the storyline.

An enjoyable read that is sure to resonate with any reader who enjoys their romances with a bit of a nostalgic look back in time.

Excerpt:

She weaved through the crowd, trying to remember names, when she spied a familiar face. What with the sheer number of people who had been in and out of the flat all night, Katie hadn’t even known Stuart was present, and she greeted him with pleasure. His unaffected Texas drawl was balm to her ears, much as she loved British accents.

“Hey, you!” She gave Stuart a warm hug. “When did you get here?”

“Been here a while, hon.” Stuart kissed her forehead and released her. “’Course, it’s a little tight in here, if you know what I mean.”

“No kiddin’.” Just two sentences of Stuart’s accent and she was already dropping her “g”s. Katie grinned. “Talk some more. I wanna hear some lingo.”

“Right on,” Stuart laughed. “Lemme see…how’s this?” He cleared his throat and turned the Texas up to full throttle. “Y’all…hot damn…cornbread.”

Katie burst into giggles, her amusement aided by the half of a joint she’d just smoked.

“What’s funny?” Maureen appeared at her side, cheeks flushed and an unnatural sparkle in her eye.

“Just Stuart,” Katie replied, her giggles tapering off.

“I should’ve known.” Maureen tossed Stuart a grin before turning halfway to speak to someone behind her. “Jay, have you met Katie?”

The name made Katie look up and her breath stopped. She’d seen lots of photos of Jay in fan magazines and on album covers over the past couple of years, but none of them did the least bit of justice to the flesh and blood man standing before her. His head was turned in profile as he said something to Nicky Majors, and Katie took the opportunity to gaze at him unimpeded.

Jay Carey had the face of an angel—a very naughty angel. The rounded cheeks, the chin with the slightest suggestion of a cleft and the long black hair that curled past his shoulders all gave him a look of innocence. Combined with his rather full lips, black brows and lashes, and the schoolboy smile he directed at Nicky, Katie would have sworn he had come right out of a Botticelli work of art. But when he focused those intense hazel eyes on her, she knew she’d been wrong. Nothing Botticelli ever did looked like that. Jay Carey didn’t have the eyes of an angel—he had the eyes of a god.

Purchase Links: Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iTunes

Author Bio:

After an exciting (and sometimes surreal!) career in radio broadcasting, Juli Page Morgan was left with a passion for rock ‘n roll and memories of the outrageous antics she’d seen and stories told to her by musicians and bands she’d interviewed over the years. Inspired by these tales, Juli wrote her first novel, CRIMSON AND CLOVER, a rocking romance set in London in 1968.

Juli lives in Arkansas with her husband and youngest daughter. When she’s not writing she’s attempting to force updates on her sixty-year-old house (it fights back!) and trying to convince her husband the world won’t come to an end if the television is turned off. She also listens to a lot of music at maximum volume and exceeds the speed limit when she drives. She’s currently at work on her second romance novel, and yes — it rocks, too!

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Amazon

4 Comments

Filed under Blog Tour, Crimson and Clover, Crimson Romance, Historical (60s), Juli Page Morgan, Rated B, Review, Romance

January 21, 2013 · 3:58 am

Review: Wildly by Debra Kayn

Title: Wildly by Debra Kayn
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 134 pdf pages
Book Rating: B

Review Copy Obtained from Author

Summary:

Shauna Marino left Cottage Grove, California an innocent teenager, gangly, wild, and with no fashion sense, always diving headfirst into whatever feelings ruled the moment. Now, she’s back to fix her mistakes. She’s gained a respectable job, set a plan in motion to benefit the town, and all that’s left is to prove to Grayson Schyler she’s changed. Maybe this time, he won’t tell her no when she shows up naked and asks him to make her a woman.

Grayson Schyler, former Wimbledon champion, would’ve recognized Shauna anywhere. She’s made his life sweeter one moment – and hell the next. As someone in the public eye, he’d gone to great strains not to allow the media to misread their relationship, which wasn’t always easy when Shauna was around. Now she’s back, asking for his help, and all he can think about is if she came back to make him pay for what he’d done.

Sensuality Level: Sensual

The Review:

In Debra Kayn’s Wildly, Shauna Marino returns to her small home town with something to prove to herself, the town and her teenage crush Grayson Schyler.

As a teenager, Shauna pulled some pretty outrageous stunts in order to attract Grayson’s attention and her last antic resulted in her father sending her off to college. Now older and hopefully wiser, Shauna is determined to make amends for her past actions and with any luck, live down her wild reputation.

In the beginning of Wildly, I really did not like either Shauna or Grayson. I thought Shauna was still rather immature and I thought that her wild reputation was somewhat exaggerated. While Grayson had some good qualities, he was horrible to Shauna. These two lacked communication and instead of trying to work things out, they spent a lot of the novel ignoring one another. Their relationship went from one extreme to another, and I despaired that they would ever get over their emotional, kneejerk reaction to run away whenever a misunderstanding occurred between them.

However, as the story unfolded, my opinion of both characters slowly evolved. Shauna proved to have more backbone than I expected where Grayson was concerned. She still harbored deep emotions for him, and I admired her for standing her ground with Grayson. When he was not willing to have anything but a sexual relationship, Shauna made a serious attempt to move on and give dating other men a shot.

Of the two, Grayson has the most emotional baggage to deal with. He has valid reasons for avoiding emotional entanglements, and he comes across as cold and unfeeling. But he cannot deny his feelings for Shauna are more than sexual and when he begins to open up, she agrees to a relationship on his terms. But it is not until their complicated past comes between them that Grayson begins to face the demons that continue to haunt him.

A secondary story arc with Shauna’s parents provides incredible insight into her character. Once again, Shauna handles the unpleasant situation with them by running away and ignoring them until her parents give her no choice but to hear them out. It was through this storyline that I began to understand why she was unable to give up on her love for Grayson.

Despite my frustrations with our lead protagonists, I did enjoy Wildly. Both characters undergo a tremendous amount of growth and find forgiveness for past mistakes. Debra Kayn does an excellent job capturing the small town atmosphere and attitudes and I love how Shauna lived down her notorious past.

A sweet yet sensual story that I recommend to anyone who enjoys contemporary romances.

4 Comments

Filed under Contemporary, Crimson Romance, Debra Kayn, Rated B, Review, Romance, Wildly